Senior Associate – Investment Research Advisory & AI

Position Purpose:

The Global Corporate & External Research Relations Team manages the firm’s strategic research infrastructure, overseeing corporate relations and external research across our investment platform, with the goal of positively impacting investment decisions across our Equity, Fixed Income, and Multi-Asset teams.

The Team manages a diverse ecosystem of research firms, tools, and service providers to optimize the effectiveness of best-in-class research and industry insights in support of our investment teams’ rigorous bottom-up fundamental research process. This tailored approach enables us to continually enhance and support the highest quality information available to our investment professionals. In addition, the Team fosters robust corporate relationships through high-touch engagement with key decision-makers. In partnership with our investment professionals, we create innovative firm-wide events that provide direct in-house access to corporate management teams.

The Senior Associate will play a crucial role in driving the Corporate and External Research Relations strategy within the APAC region, partnering closely with investment professionals to integrate emerging technologies and external research resources into their day-to-day research workflows and investment decision-making. Responsibilities include directing the end-to-end evaluation lifecycle for new research firms, tools, and service providers; driving deep investor engagement by providing expert-led advisory on product capabilities; and scouting evolving technologies to proactively optimize the research ecosystem – all of which serve to strengthen the alpha-generating resources available to APAC investment professionals across the Gen AI, market and alternative data, and sell-side landscape.

The Senior Associate will cultivate strong working relationships with research firms, tools, and service providers. Establishing partnerships with investment professionals, including both Analysts and Portfolio Managers, to understand and address their specific research needs is essential for success in this position. The role requires the ability to synthesize complex data landscapes into actionable insights while upholding rigorous governance and operational excellence. The candidate must be able to operate independently while collaborating closely with global counterparts to ensure alignment with firm-wide initiatives.

This role will be based in our Hong Kong office and will report to the APAC Regional Head of Corporate and External Research Relations.

Primary Accountabilities:

The candidate will:

• Drive the end-to-end strategic evaluation and lifecycle management for research firms, tools, and service providers across the Gen AI, market and alternative data, and sell-side landscape in APAC
• Lead the negotiation of commercial terms and oversee the execution of agreements in partnership with Legal, Compliance, and Finance
• Act as the primary liaison between investment professionals, internal teams, and external providers to ensure integration and optimization of research tools into investment workflows
• Build strong relationships with investment professionals and external research partners across regions, fostering collaboration and responsiveness
• Develop deep expertise across key research firms, tools, and service providers by staying current on product developments and new features; synthesize insights across the provider landscape to build a holistic understanding of value propositions, assessing differentiation and long-term ROI
• Identify new and emerging technologies to anticipate future investor needs and identify opportunities to enhance existing solutions
• Empower investment teams through expert-led training and resource optimization, helping teams make full and effective use of approved resources
• Assess vendor performance and usage to ensure research firms, tools, and service providers remain effective and aligned with investment teams’ needs; share insights to optimize overall resource efficiency
• Support other priorities and initiatives within the APAC Corporate & External Research Relations Team
• Work closely with global counterparts to share best practices, align APAC approaches with firm-wide initiatives, and bring regional insights into global discussion

Qualifications

• 4–8 years' experience in investor-facing roles on the buy-side, sell-side, or at a research/data vendor; backgrounds in sales coverage, corporate access, or equity research are particularly relevant — any background where building credibility with Portfolio Managers and Analysts is central to the job
• Proven commercial acumen with a track record of navigating business negotiations and delivering strategic recommendations based on ROI and performance metrics
• Expertise in synthesizing technical data and AI-driven tools into actionable investment applications for Portfolio Managers and Analysts
• Strong customer-service orientation; demonstrated ability to influence and build strategic credibility with senior investment professionals
• Meticulous attention to detail and a solution-oriented mindset; able to navigate complex operational challenges while upholding rigorous governance standards
• Exceptional communication skills with the ability to prioritize and execute across multiple time zones in a fast-paced environment
• Highest ethical standards with a commitment to handling sensitive information with discretion
• Bachelor’s degree required